Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Gail Benson

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Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, March 28 at 6:00 pm. The highlights of today's tape are NORTHERN SHRIKE, HARLEQUIN DUCK, EURASIAN WIGEON, SNOWY OWL, ICELAND GULL, RED-NECKED GREBE, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, and spring migrants.

But first, last Friday New York lost one of its birding champions with the passing of Manny Levine. Along with his decades of service to the New York State Ornithological Association and Linnaean Society of New York, his editorship of *The Kingbird* for many years and the update of *Bull's Birds of New York*, and his many other contributions to birding, especially in the New York City and Long Island region, Manny will best be remembered as a leader, a tutor, and a great friend. Our deepest condolences to Mickey and family.

Probably appropriately, we find ourselves now in the March doldrums, when expectations far exceed reality.

Some decent winter birds do linger, including the NORTHERN SHRIKE at Jones Beach West End, seen on Tuesday a little south of the fisherman's parking lot, west of the Coast Guard Station. Five HARLEQUIN DUCKS were around the west end jetty that day, with a RED-NECKED GREBE also still in Jones Inlet, while the count of PIPING PLOVERS on the Coast Guard bar reached 14.

Single EURASIAN WIGEONS featured one on Fresh Pond in Fort Salonga Wednesday and one by the Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 on Thursday.

An immature ICELAND GULL was an unexpected visitor to Prospect Park Lake on Tuesday, with another in Shoreham today, and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at Plum Beach in Brooklyn today.

SNOWY OWLS were still present from Great Kills Park on Staten Island and Floyd Bennett Field all the way out east to Hicks Island, as seen from the end of Lazy Point Road in Napeague.

Though decreasing in numbers, some RED-NECKED GREBES continue in the area, including one lingering on Central Park Reservoir and another at Hempstead Lake State Park Thursday. Other birds Thursday at Hempstead Lake, one of our best early spring migration sites, included lingering BALD EAGLES, GREAT EGRET, OSPREY and three EASTERN PHOEBES.

In Central Park, the PINE WARBLER and two BALTIMORE ORIOLES continue around the Ramble and a few RUSTY BLACKBIRDS have been scattered around the park as well as at other suitable sites in our region.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were noted continuing at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, Kissena Park in Queens, Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, Muttontown Preserve and at Croton Point, and COMMON RAVENS have been moving around the area recently.

Among the recent spring arrivals have been a small number of BLUE-WINGED TEAL, a SNOWY EGRET Saturday, a PECTORAL SANDPIPER at Goethels Bridge Pond on Staten Island last Saturday, a NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW with TREE SWALLOWS over Lower Lake in Yaphank Sunday, and a male SCARLET TANAGER seen singing in Queens last Saturday.

If you haven't already, don't forget to sign the petition to restore Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge's West Pond at http://tinyurl.com/west-pond-petition. Thanks.

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or days except Sunday call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.